RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Nudging Demand for Academic Support Services: Experimental and Structural Evidence from Higher Education
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0221-11474R2
DO 10.3368/jhr.0221-11474R2
A1 Pugatch, Todd
A1 Wilson, Nicholas
YR 2022
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2022/03/01/jhr.0221-11474R2.abstract
AB We conducted an experiment designed to increase demand for academic support services among more than 2,100 students at a large U.S. public university. The intervention shifted student attention and increased service use, but also revealed behavioral biases. Structural estimates using the experimental variation suggest that transaction costs well in excess of plausible opportunity costs explain relatively low service use. Moreover, one-third of students are never attentive to student services. Message characteristics also matter. Several common nudging techniques—such as text messages, lottery-based economic incentives, and repeated messages—either had no effect or in some cases reduced the effectiveness of messaging.